On The House

by Lightning Sprint

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Braeburn, Slice of Life
Length: 5845

Being a bartender can have a variety of experiences during shifts. Tonight's just so happens to be one of the busiest that Meadow has been involved in. Safe to say she'll need some help with this one.

In Appleloosa, the tavern is one of the most populated locations. For this reason, many members of staff need to be hired. One of these members of staff is Meadow, a unicorn mare who works as a bartender. Along with her two good friends, Early Bird and Sugar Spice, as well as the rest of the staff, Meadow works hard to bring in customers and earn those sweet sweet bits. This shift in particular, however, will test the staff's resolve. Buckle down, it's gonna be a long night.

Published 2021-10-21 15:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-10-21 15:50:00 UTC

The Evening Rush

It was late afternoon in Appleloosa and the sun had begun its decent from the sky. Several ponies were dotted around the town, going about their day. One of these ponies was Meadow. The unicorn mare was on her way to her latest shift at work. Trotting down the street, she gave a friendly wave to a few other ponies she passed by. Continuing on, Meadow cast her eyes forward and saw her destination. The finest tavern in Appleloosa. The Salt Block. As much as it was known for its salt, it's other selling points were chilled beverages and scrumptious food. Approaching the main entrance, Meadow noticed two mares, an earth pony and a pegasus, standing outside and chatting with one another.

"Early Bird! Sugar Spice!" Meadow called out to them, waving a hoof. Both mares turned to look at her with smiles on their faces.

"Meadow!" They both said together, waving to her.

"We were wondering when you were gonna get here." Early Bird, the pegasus, said.

"Fashionably late as always." Sugar Spice, the earth pony, said with a giggle.

"What can I say girls? I like to make an entrance." Meadow responded, dramatically flicking her jet black mane.

The three mares laughed together for a few moments before turning and heading inside, Meadow leading the way. As she pushed open the door, she looked around at all the tables around the room and a smile made its way onto her face. Turning her head left, she made eye contact with the bar.

"Get somepony who looks at you the way Meads looks at that bar." Early Bird said, Sugar Spice giggling as a result.

"Oh ha ha, very funny." Meadow said with a smirk.

That's when a voice from the other side of the bar caught their attention.

"Over here ladies." A mare said, resulting in the three mares turning towards her.

The mare who had addressed them was waving a hoof to them. She was a dark purple coated earth pony with a dark red mane and tail, her bright blue eyes seeming to shine as she looked at them.

"Miss Violet Wine." Sugar Spice said as they walked over to join her.

"Oh Sugar dear, I may be the tavernkeeper but you don't need to be so formal." Violet Wine responded.

Meadow raised an eyebrow. That's literally the reason why she was being formal.

"We've got some new starters for this evening's shift." Violet continued, gesturing to the other ponies sitting around the table. Meadow hadn't noticed them sitting there as they were all in silence. Quickly counting them up, she counted six in total.

"Nice to meet you guys." Meadow said to them all with a pleasant smile.

"This is Meadow, Sugar Spice and Early Bird. These ladies have worked here for a while and they'll answer any questions you might have." Violet said, gesturing to each mare in turn as she said their name and each mare in turn giving a smile, a wave or both. Turning back towards the table, Violet made eye contact with the closest new staff member to her.

The mare she was looking at, a pink coated earth pony with a white mane and tail, fumbled with the apron in her hooves before placing at on the table and standing up.

"H-Hello." she stammered, clearly nervous about the eyes all trained on her. "My name is Blossom Flower and it's lovely to meet you all." Her voice was soft and gentle as she flitted her eyes at each of the three mares stood before her in turn.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Sugar Spice said, Meadow and Early Bird both nodding in agreement.

Sitting down in her seat once again, Blossom Flower went back to being quiet once again. She was then replaced in standing by two earth pony stallions. Meadow almost had to rub her eyes as she thought that she was seeing double, the coats of the stallions the same shade of brown. However, she wasn't as the two stallions before her were in fact twins. The only way they were able to be told apart was their manes, as they were different colors.

"Afternoon all." The first twin spoke, his mane blonde in color. "Name's Chocolate Fudge. I'm happy to meet you all and hope we can rack in those bits." He radiated a friendly nature in the way he spoke. He glanced at his brother and gave him a nudge. "Come on bro, say something."

Sure enough, his twin, sporting a white mane, obliged. "A pleasure to meet each and every one of you. My name is Chocolate Sundae and I cannot wait to begin working with you."

"Think they should've been called chalk and cheese?" Early Bird whispered, making Meadow smirk.

"They do sound quite different." Meadow whispered back.

The two brothers took their seats and a pegasus stallion, with a white coat and silver mane, was the next to stand up. "Hey there, I'm Wing Swoop." he introduced, smiling at the group. "Can't wait to get started." Wing Swoop then promptly sat down once more.

The two remaining staff members, two unicorns, glanced at one another. The stallion, his coat matching that of Wing Swoop, stood up first with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you. My name is Arctic Sparks and it's wonderful to meet you." he introduced in a polite tone of voice.

The unicorn mare stood up as Arctic Sparks sat back down, looking around the room and then back to the group again, clearing her throat before speaking. "Hello. I... I'm Glitter Gaze." she said nervously. "I hope we can become good friends as well as coworkers." She added before taking a seat once again.

A few moments of silence passed before Violet Wine spoke up once again. "Alright, now that introductions are out of the way we can-"

"Whoa whoa whoa hold up!" A stallion called from the bar area, getting everyone's attention and making them all turn to face that direction.

"Of course, how can I forget?" Violet asked. "Mixer! Is everything ready?"

An earth pony stallion, his coat silver and his mane brown, leaned around the bar. "Yup! All ready for tonight."

"Everyone, this is Mixer." Violet said, everyone giving him a wave.

"Nice to meet you newbies." Mixer said.

"Okay everypony, tonight is going to be a big night as the annual Appleloosa rodeo has been going on this week and many of those taking part and those watching will be coming here." Violet Wine said as the staff all put on their aprons. "I've noted down everyone's station for tonight so take note of this."

"Yes ma'am." The group all said.

"Alright. Meadow, you're gonna be working the bar with Mixer and Arctic Sparks. Everyone else, you'll be waiting tables. Make sure you pick up a notepad and quill. Keep them with you all night as you'll need to write your orders on them." Violet continued, getting nods from each of the staff one by one when they were told what they'd be doing. "We open for the evening rush in ten minutes so get yourselves set up. It'll be alright guys so just do your best."

With that, everyone moved to their areas.

"Come on Arctic." Meadow said, smiling at him as she lead him towards the bar. Stepping around the bar and heading behind it, she walked over to Mixer.

"Hey Meads, this the newbie working with us tonight?" Mixer asked.

"Sure is." Meadow answered.

"Hello sir." Arctic Sparks said.

"Sir? Oh no no buddy, I'm just Mixer. No sir needed." Mixer deflected with a shake of his head. The two stallions then shook hooves. "Arctic Sparks right?"

"Yes si- I... uh.. Mixer." Arctic responded.

"Alright, we've got ten minutes, let's get you up to scratch. Meads, if you wanna set up everything over that side whilst I run Arctic through everything." Mixer said.

Meadow nodded and smiled. "I'm on it."

The next ten minutes went by pretty smoothly, Meadow had set up everything on her side of the bar and was ready to go. Adjusting the strap on her apron, Meadow glanced around the room at everyone else. She watched as they went through their final checks. Her ears would then twitch as she heard the sounds of voices approaching the tavern entrance.

"Alright everyone, here we go." Violet Wine announced as she opened up the doors. Welcome to the Salt Block everpony!"

The crowd outside was of a decent size and began to make their way inside. Meadow watched as the waiting staff quickly got into action and spoke with the customers, escorting them to tables and taking the first lots of orders.

Watching them all brought a smile to Meadow's face. That's when a voice caught her attention.

"Excuse me ma'am?" An earth pony stallion asked.

Meadow looked at him. "Yes sir, how can I help?"

"Can I get two of your finest n' coldest ciders please?" He requested, glancing towards the barrels behind her.

"But of course sir, two ciders coming right up." Meadow said with a nod, illuminating her horn, a light blue aura surrounding it. Levitating up a glass, she turned to the barrel behind her and pushed down the tap on it. Upon doing so, the cider inside the barrel was poured into the glass. She placed the glass on the bar before levitating up a second and pouring out the second beverage.

"First glass of the night, I feel honoured." The stallion said, chuckling to himself at his attempt to make small talk.

"Well you can keep that feeling with you all night sir." Meadow said, smiling back as she placed the second glass of cider on the bar. "That'll be six bits please sir."

The stallion reached into the pouch around his neck and pulled out the appropriate number of bits before pulling out an extra one. "Here's a little something extra for yourself."

"Thank you kindly sir, much appreciated."

"No m'lady, thank you."

With that, he tipped his hat to her before picking up one of his drinks and placing it on his table and promptly coming back for his second one.

"Alright, first sale. Let's keep it going." Meadow said to herself.

On the other side of the room, Sugar Spice was filling out an order from a table of six. She noted down each of their drink requests and also an order of hay fries. Turning towards the bar, she began trotting over with the order on her notepad. Glancing at the bar once again, she saw Meadow taking an order so turned her attention to Mixer who was at the far side of the bar.

"Hey Mixer, I've got an order here." she said, turning the notepad for Mixer to see.

Looking at the order, Mixer nodded his head. "Alright, four ciders, two waters and some hay fries." Taking that page off, he gave her a smile before she turned to go and get another table's orders.

In the centre of the room, Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Sundae were working together with two tables, both of them with four orders. Making sure they had everything, they headed to get the drinks for the tables and bring them back. They shared a hoofbump on the way to the bar before showing their orders to Arctic Sparks, who promptly sorted them out.

"Good hustle Arc." Mixer said, taking a payment for an order.

"Thanks." Arctic Sparks said with a smile.

Over by the front entrance, Wing Swoop and Blossom Flower were bringing in the next lot of customers and showing them to their tables.

"Hey there, table for three? Would you please follow me." Wing Swoop said as he walked with his small group to their table.

"W-Welcome everypony." Blossom Flower said softly to the group she was seeing to.

"Everythin' alright?" A mare asked her. "You look nervous."

"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry. Today is my first day." Blossom answered.

"Take all the time you need, we're in no rush." The mare said.

Blossom smiled at this, appreciating the mare's words. "Thank you ma'am." Taking a few moments to breathe and compose herself, she began taking their orders one by one. Glancing up for a moment, she saw Glitter Gaze looking in her direction. The two mares shared a smile and a nod before going back to their jobs.

Glitter Gaze levitated some empty glasses from a couple of tables and took them back to the bar so they could be cleaned and used once again. As she got to the bar, Early Bird would join her there.

"Hey Glitter, how's it going?" Early Bird asked.

"So far so good." Glitter Gaze responded.

"Good to hear, keep at it." Early said as she headed out to another table.

Meadow took the payments for multiple orders and sorted out the drinks that were requested as Violet Wine walked over behind the bar.

"Doing alright you three?" She asked, bringing Arctic Sparks and Mixer into the conversation.

"All good here."

"Yup."

"Doing well so far."

With a content nod, Violet continued to walk around and monitor the staff, occasionally stepping in if another pair of hooves was needed.

As the evening drew on and the sky darkened, more and more customers would come in as others would leave. Everything had been going pretty smoothly up to now and each member of staff was pulling their weight equally.

Having a minute to catch her breath for a moment, Meadow cast her eyes over the room and located each staff member. She monitored what each of them were doing at that current moment:

Mixer and Arctic Sparks were both on the bar with her, still serving drinks.

The twins were at tables 7 and 11, delivering meals.

Early Bird was helping Wing Swoop in clearing up his table. Table 2 to be precise.

Glitter Gaze had just got to table 6 to take their orders.

Violet Wine was standing by table 16, waiting for a couple to decide on what they wanted.

Sugar Spice was bringing empty glasses back towards the bar, having to come from table 4.

She'd noticed everyone so far. All except....

"I'll be with you in a moment sir." Blossom Flower's voice said.

"Waitress, could I get a refill please?" A stallion asked her.

"I'll be with you in a second sir." Blossom Flower answered, passing by another table as Meadow caught sight of a mare tap her.

"Beg your pardon, miss, but I ordered a daffodil salad ten minutes ago." The mare said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry ma'am. I'll have that right out for you." Blossom said, her voice growing shaky as she passed by another table en route to the bar.

"Pardon me ma'am, we've got some empty glasses." A stallion said, his voice muffled by the food he was currently chewing.

"Y-Yes sir of course. I'm so so sorry." Blossom said, even shakier now. She quickly grabbed all the glasses she could carry, placed them on a tray and trudged back to the bar.

"Mixer." Meadow said, getting his attention. "After you pour that drink, could you cover for me for a while?"

"Yeah, sure thing. Do what you gotta do." Mixer responded, catching sight of Blossom Flower and realising what Meadow was getting at.

Meadow waited for a few moments as Mixer finished the drink he was making and got the bits from the mare he was serving. After that, Mixer looked her way and nodded. Meadow wasted no time in getting a move on. Quickly moving out from behind the bar, she lit up her horn was more and lifted 3 of the glass off of the tray Blossom Flower was carrying, placed them on the bar behind her and then met her halfway.

"Hey, I saw what was going on. Are you alright?" Meadow asked.

"Oh Meadow I'm so sorry. I can't handle this, there are so many ponies and so many orders. I can't do this." Blossom Flower said, panting softly.

"Don't panic Blossom, I'm going to help you. But first, you've got to take a deep breath and calm down." Meadow said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "In for a few seconds..... then out for a few seconds...."

Blossom Flower took this advice and closed her eyes, taking the breaths in and out as instructed.

"That's it." Meadow said softly, letting her do a few repetitions of that.

"Everything okay?" Sugar Spice asked as she passed the two of them.

"Yeah, all good here. Just having a moment of composure." Meadow said with a smile and a wink. "We got this."

Sugar Spice continued onto the bar and placed down the glasses.

Blossom Flower opened her eyes and looked at Meadow. "Okay, I'm alright now."

"Good. Now which table was that salad wanted on?" Meadow asked.

"Uh...." Blossom looked over her shoulder. "Table 8."

"Okay, you handle that and I'll add sort those refills for you."

"Really?"

"Of course. That's what coworkers do, we help each other."

"Thank you so much Meadow."

"Don't mention it. Now go get that salad."

Before she could finish the sentence, Blossom Flower had already headed past her to the bar and placed down the other empty glasses.

Meadow walked towards the first table she knew needed refills. The one with the stallion who had spoken to Blossom Flower. Table 13. Heading across to the table, Meadow levitated the glasses up off of it. "I heard you gents would like some refills."

"Yes. Thank you kindly." The stallion from before said with a genuine smile. "Another round of ciders please."

"Alright, five ciders coming up." Meadow said, taking their glasses back to the bar. "Need some refills please." she said upon getting there.

"Five refills coming up." Arctic Sparks said, quickly getting each glass filled up once more, even if he did spill some of the cider over the top of the glass he did first in his haste.

"Thank you kindly." Meadow said gratefully. Looking down to the other end of the bar, she saw Blossom Flower talking with Violet Wine, who gave her the salad with a smile. This, in turn, made Meadow smile.

"Five refills ready." Arctic said, making Meadow look at him once again.

"Thanks again." Meadow said, levitating the glass and walking back towards table 13. Upon reaching the table, she placed the drinks down in front of each stallion sitting at the table.

"Much appreciated miss..." one stallion trailed off.

"Meadow." Meadow answered.

"Ah, miss Meadow." He said with a nod.

"Enjoy." Meadow said with a smile, turning and walking off. As she passed by the other table that Blossom Flower had passed, she collected their glasses and took them back to the bar. As she walked, her ear twitched as she caught a conversation.

"Ah, my salad! Thank you so much. How much will it be?" A mare asked.

"No charge ma'am. On the house." Blossom Flower said. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long."

"Oh no. No problem at all. I hope I didn't stress you out at all. I was just worried about maybe my order was forgotten. I know you all have a lot to remember on duty." The mare said. "But anyway, thank you very much."

"Enjoy your meal!" Blossom said chipperly.

Meadow smirked and chuckled to herself. I bet that conversation she had with Violet was about what she was going to tell that mare.

A few more tables had begun to clear out and were then cleaned up by staff. Meadow got back to the bar and placed the glasses down. Spinning on her hooves, she was about to move back out between the tables when the front doors to the tavern opened up.

That's when she saw him.

His yellow coat, his blonde mane and tail. That brown vest and hat he always wore. Those luscious green eyes.

Braeburn. He was here.

Meadow had missed the last time he had came as she was on her alloted time off but she always noticed him whenever he was walking around town.

"Meadow!" Mixer called from the bar, making her snap out of her Braeburn fueled trance.

"What? Huh?" She said, shaking herself off.

"No time to be zoning out now. That's a group of 8 over there. Go help the newbies if they need it."

"R-Right. Yeah." Meadow nodded her head and walked over towards Braeburn and the group he had just walked in with.

As she approached his group, her heartbeat increased slightly but she maintained composure. She had to remain professional whilst working.

"Good evening gentlecolts." Wing Swoop said. "Table for 8, I presume?"

"That's right." Braeburn responded.

Meadow watched them talk, really wanting her to be the one chatting with him.

"If you'll follow me this way then." Wing continued, taking them to the table. It was a large table in the middle of the room. Table 10. It was the largest table in the tavern and needed to be to get all 8 of them round it.

Braeburn sat down, alongside Sheriff Silverstar and a few of their friends. They talked amongst themselves for a few moments as they sorted out what they wanted to have. Meadow started walking once again, joining Wing Swoop at the table. The two shared a smile with one another and stood together.

"Well, I don't know about y'all but I'm parched." Braeburn said with a smile.

"What's new there?" Silverstar asked with a smirk.

"Very funny." Braeburn said, glancing towards the two waiting staff standing there. His eyes fell on Meadow, who was herself looking at the floor. "Something wrong miss?"

"Hm?" Meadow asked, looking up, her eyes meeting his. "Oh no no no, not at all."

Braeburn smirked, looking at her. "Well alright, we're ready to order, if that's okay?"

"Sure thing." Meadow nodded and turned to Wing Swoop beside her. "Wing, if you get this half of the table then I'll get the other half."

"Sure." Wing Swoop nodded, stepping around the table to the other side and taking their orders.

Meadow watched him go before looking back at Braeburn and Sheriff Silverstar once more as they were the closest to her. "What'll it be gents?"

"I'll get some freshly squeezed apple juice please." Braeburn answered with a nod and smile.

"I'll the same too please." Sheriff Silverstar said.

"Alright, that's two apple juices and...." Meadow trailed off as she looked at the other two stallions on this side of the table.

"One apple cider please."

"Same for me thanks."

Writing down the orders, Meadow gave a nod of confirmation. "Alright, I'll be back with those soon." she said, looking across at Wing Swoop as he finished up with his orders. The two then walked back towards the bar.

"Everything okay?" Wing Swoop asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Meadow answered, almost too quickly.

"Your whole demeanor changed when they came in."

"Well, y'know, they're some of the most well known ponies in town so seeing them come in means we've got to step up our game."

"With Braeburn in particular?"

A bright blush flashed onto Meadow's face. "I....uh...."

"Gotcha."

"Oh shut up."

A few moments of quiet passed before they both started chuckling. Approaching the bar, they showed Arctic Sparks and Mixer the orders. They promptly filled out the orders and put the drinks onto trays.

"Order up." Arctic Sparks said, the other three all looking at him. "Sorry. Always wanted to say that."

"I ain't judgin'." Mixer said with a smirk.

Meadow and Wing Swoop took their trays and walked back to the table, Wing Swoop balancing the tray on his wings and Meadow levitating hers. As the pair approached the table, a few of the stallions sitting there looked in their direction.

"Your beverages sirs." Meadow said with a smile as she placed the tray on the table. "Two apple juices and two ciders." she said, placing the drink in front of the stallion who ordered it. "If you gents would like anything else, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Don't you worry ma'am, we'll be sure to call for ya." Braeburn said with a charismatic smile.

Hearing that, the blush returned on Meadow's face and the look on Braeburn's face did not help matters in the slightest.

"Y-Yes sir. Enjoy your drinks." Meadow said, turning and walking off.

Heading back to the bar, Meadow poured herself a class of water to help with calming herself down. Looking around the room, she only just noticed the empty tables dotted around the room. Taking herself to the far side of the room, after grabbing a cloth, she began wiping down the table furthest from her.

"Need some help with those?" A voice asked from in front of her. Looking up from the table, she was met with one of the twins. Flicking her eyes up, she saw the blonde mane.

"Ah, Chocolate Fudge. How's it going?" Meadow asked.

"Pretty well, this sure is a hefty shift for a first night." Chocolate Fudge replied.

"Yeah, true, think some table cleaning will drain your energy?" Meadow asked with a smirk.

"Not a chance." Fudge said, holding up a cloth of his own.

The two got to cleaning a few of the empty tables on that side of the room, managing to sort out a good chunk of them. After sorting out four or five tables, they met again in the middle.

"Expert cleaning good sir." Meadow said, putting on an very hoity toity upper class style voice.

"Likewise madam." Chocolate Fudge said, matching that voice. The two of them laughing briefly as a result.

Another look around the room revealed another group entering the tavern and being seated at a free table.

"Never stops, huh?" Meadow said.

"Let's get back to it." Fudge said with a determined nod.

With that, the night continued. More orders were taken and brought to tables. Meadow got back onto the bar to help Arctic Sparks and Mixer out and the rest of the waiting staff were efficiently going between tables. It was getting later and later in the night and more and more groups were leaving the tavern, satisfied with their meals, drinks and service. Some of them even left tips for the staff who were seeing to them. With another hour or two going by, there was only a quarter of the tables in the tavern still with ponies sitting at them. Thanks to this, the waiting staff were able to take it in turns to have breaks before getting back to work.

After cleaning a few glasses, Meadow looked in the direction of table 10 and in particular at Braeburn. She watched as he laughed and joked with his friends and enjoyed the cider that he was now drinking, an alternative to the juice he'd been having when she last saw him. Seeing a few empty glasses on the table, she walked over towards the table and illuminated her horn. The empty glasses lifted up from the table and began to float.

"Let me take these empty glasses for you." Meadow said with a smile.

"Thank you kindly miss." Sheriff Silverstar said with a tip of his hat.

Meadow nodded her head in response as Braeburn turned to look at her for a moment. Meadow glanced at him momentarily and as a result their eyes briefly met. Clearing her throat, she turned and walked back in the direction of the bar, unaware that he was still looking at her as she walked. As she got to the bar, she put down the glasses once more and got to work cleaning them. She wasn't the only one to get back to the bar as Glitter Gaze, Blossom Flower, Chocolate Sundae and Violet Wine arrived there at the same time.

"Hey." They all said together with smiles on their faces.

"If any of you guys haven't had your break yet you can go for it now. Mixer, Arctic, that means you too." Violet Wine said.

Mixer and Arctic Sparks shared a look and a nod with one another before coming out from behind the bar.

"I'll hold down the fort here whilst you guys relax." Meadow said, starting to clean off the glasses.

"You need some help cleaning those?" Blossom Flower offered.

"You sure?" Meadow asked.

"Yeah." Blossom nodded her head.

"I'd appreciate that."

"Alrighty then."

Blossom Flower joined her behind the bar and began cleaning glasses. The glasses were cleaned quickly thanks to the two of them working together to get the job done.

With each passing moment, the night continued to wind down. As customers departed the tavern, their table was cleared of glasses and cleaned. The occasional new group would enter but they would only have one or two drinks before also departing. It eventually got to only two or three tables left, including the table that Braeburn was sitting at. The first table of the three to depart was one consisting of a group of four mares.

"Thanks for keeping us company boys." One of the mares said, waving to the twins as she left a tip on the table for them.

"Is she trying to flirt with us?" Chocolate Fudge asked.

"Why does everything have to be flirtatious in your head?" Chocolate Sundae asked with an eyeroll.

"She was literally giving us bedroom eyes."

"You don't know that for sure."

"The way she said that and the way she looked at us... yeah, alright, I don't know then do I? "

"Whatever."

Fudge chuckled and nudged Sundae before picking up half of the bits on the table. "Just grab your bits and let's go."

Sundae grabbed the bits left on the table and turned to face his brother. "Don't say it."

"I could probably take all four." Fudge muttered.

"What did I just say?!" Sundae exclaimed, getting a laugh from his brother.

"Come on, let's get these tables cleaned."

"I know I know."

Over on another table, Blossom Flower and Glitter Gaze were chatting with a trio of stallions who had been taking part in the rodeo, finding out how they did and they fun they had doing so. The mares were very interested in what they were being told, listening closely.

"A blue ribbon is the best award you can get. I missed out this time but you better believe I'll get it next time." One of the stallions said, a wide smile on his face.

"I'm sure you will sir." Blossom Flower said, smiling back.

"Yeah, you just have to stick to it." Glitter Gaze added.

Standing up from the table, the stallion tipped his hat to the pair after giving them their tips. The other two stallions accompanying him also left tips of their own before the three of them took their leave.

Sharing a glance, Blossom and Glitter nodded to one another and picked up the bits that they were given and then moved to grabbing the empty glasses to take back.

"They were really sweet." Glitter said.

"Yeah, they were very nice." Blossom agreed.

At Braeburn's table, they were all finishing off their last few drinks for the night. Wing Swoop had taken notice of this and gradually made his way over but stopped upon seeing Meadow also making her way towards the table. Watching as she headed over, he decided to continue moving over anyway.

"That'll do me for tonight fellas." One of of the stallions said.

"I agree. On duty again tomorrow so I can't be going too crazy." Sheriff Silverstar agreed.

"I've enjoyed tonight, I'm alright to end our night here." Braeburn added, the others nodding in agreement.

As if on cue, Meadow was at the table ready to help. She was joined by Wing Swoop moments later.

"Everything alright for you guys this evening?" Meadow asked, the stallions all looking at her.

"Yes ma'am." Braeburn answered, standing up and tucking in his chair. One by one, his friends did the same.

"We're glad you've enjoyed yourselves." Wing Swoop said, starting to pick up glasses.

"All thanks to the service of the members of staff." Braeburn said with a smile. "Whilst we're talking about the service, here's a little something for yourselves." he continued, pulling out two small pouches of bits and tossing them to them.

"Thank you ever so much." Meadow said.

"We'll be back again at some point in the future so we'll hope to see you guys again." Braeburn said as they all turned towards the entrance and began making their way out.

"Enjoy your evening!" Meadow called as they left.

Upon watching them leave, Violet Wine picked up a sign reading 'Tavern Closed' and placed it outside. After coming back inside, she smiled at all of her staff and held up a hoof.

"Alright everypony! Let's get this place cleaned up and then we can head home." she announced, getting everyone's attention. "You've all really worked hard today and I'm looking forward to our future shifts together. Newbies, you should all be proud of yourselves for working as hard as you did today. Now let's put in that last bit of effort for that night."

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone responded.

The cleaning up phase didn't take long as the group had already been cleaning tables once they became empty.

Meadow, Sugar Spice and Early Bird were sweeping up the rubbish on the floor into trash bags.

"Tonight was a good hustle from everyone." Meadow said.

"I agree." Sugar Spice nodded.

"When you weren't gawking at Braeburn." Early Bird teased.

"Oh hush you. I was doing perfectly fine." Meadow said

"The blush on your face said otherwise." Early Bird giggled

"Regards of all that, we all worked hard and got the job done." Sugar Spice said, to which the two agreed.

As the three mares cleared up, the twins helped Mixer and Arctic Sparks clean the bar area whilst Wing Swoop, Blossom Flower, Glitter Gaze and Violet Wine sorted out the tables that still needed to be cleaned up. One last team effort to get the place looking spotless.

Once everything was completed, the group headed out through the front entrance. Violet Wine locked the door after walking out and the group convened by the steps that led up to it.

"Great work tonight everypony, a baptism of fire you could say but we pushed through it and made it a successful night." Violet Wine said, looking at each member of the group. "Anyone have anything else to say before we leave?"

There were a few moments of silence as the group looked at one another, only for Blossom Flower to raise her hoof in the air. With all the eyes on her solely, she beamed a happy smile.

"Same thing tomorrow night?"

Author's Note

Guess who's back? Another short story that I wanted to share with you guys. I was flooded with a creative drive so here is the result of that. I hope you guys like it!